May 3, 2015
Final Results in PDF Format | Live Results | Video Highlights
TUCSON, Ariz. - The San Diego State men's golf team captured its third conference title in the last five years Sunday after firing a collective 9-under par 275 during the final round of the 2015 Mountain West Championship at OMNI Tucson National Golf Club. The Aztecs, who entered the day 11 shots behind UNLV in third place, combined for 19 birdies to help overtake the Rebels by one stroke.
With its total, SDSU set a school record for lowest score in MW Championship play, finishing with a collective 17-under 835 to top UNLV (-16), Nevada (-10) and New Mexico (-9), while Colorado State (+13) finished a distant fifth on the par-71, 7,144-yard Catalina Course.
"This is a special group of players," said Aztec head coach Ryan Donovan. "They played for each other today and their resiliency paid off."
The SDSU resurgence was fueled by Xander Schauffele (San Diego, Calif.) and Ryann Ree (Redondo Beach, Calif.), who each fired a 67 on Sunday. Schauffele posted his highest finish ever at the MW Championship, landing in the runner-up spot on the individual leaderboard with a combined 9-under 204. The Aztec senior drained five birdies on the day, including back-to-back conversions at Nos. 3-4 as well as the 10th and 11th greens, to finish just two shots behind medalist Kurt Kitayama of UNLV (-11).
Schauffele also made a critical sand save later in the round at the par-4, 470-yard 18th. Shortly thereafter, Kitayama, who was playing in the final group, had a chance to force a team playoff with a par, but registered a bogey-5 instead.
Ree, meanwhile, got off to a torrid start, sinking five birdies of his own on the front nine, including a successful make on the par-4, 485-yard No. 2, which ranked as the toughest hole of the final round. The junior transfer, who reeled off eight straight pars through the turn, recorded just one blemish on his scorecard, a bogey at No. 17, to complete the tournament at 5-under 208. With his effort, Ree tied his lowest round as an Aztec, climbing eight places into a three-way tie for fourth with UNLV's Carl Jonson and Corey Eddings of Nevada, who finished two shots in back of another Wolf Pack golfer, Nick Fuller, for third.
Riccardo Michelini (Carpi, Italy) and PJ Samiere (Kailua, Hawaii) each contributed to the Aztecs' winning total after tying for 24th at 5-over 218. Despite two bogeys on his final three holes, Michelini recorded his lowest round of the weekend with a 70, notching four birdies, including a successful conversion on the sprawling par-5, 587-yard No. 8, which ranked as the third-most difficult round on Sunday. With his performance, the SDSU junior vaulted 12 places on the leaderboard after ending the second round in a tie for 36th.
Samiere continued his upward mobility as well, leaping an additional four spots after notching his second straight 71 during the final round. The Aztec freshman offset three bogeys with a trio of birdies, completing his first MW Championship appearance just two shots out of the top 20.
Despite firing a final-round 73 which did not count toward SDSU's team score on Sunday, Nahum Mendoza III (San Diego, Calif.) still finished in the top 10, slipping four spots into a tie for seventh at 4-under 209. The SDSU sophomore recorded birdies on two of his last four holes; however, four bogeys, including two to begin his round, thwarted his progress.
With their conference championship safely tucked away, the 33rd-ranked Aztecs earned the Mountain West's automatic berth and will await word of their postseason destination when NCAA regional bids are announced Monday, May 4 on The Golf Channel's Morning Drive program at 7 a.m. PT. This year's regional sites and host schools include Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (USD), Bremerton, Wash. (Washington), Lubbock, Texas (Texas Tech), Noblesville, Ind. (Ball State), New Haven, Conn. (Yale) and Chapel Hill, N.C. (North Carolina).
In addition, the SDSU men's golf title gives the Aztec athletic department seven team championships during the 2014-15 academic year, joining women's soccer (Mountain West regular season, tournament), women's swimming and diving (MW) and men's basketball (MW regular season), water polo (Golden Coast regular season) and women's golf (MW). Since the start of the 2012-13 season, San Diego State has claimed 26 conference team championships.
2015 Mountain West ChampionshipFinal ResultsOMNI Tucson National G.C.Catalina CourseTucson, Ariz.Par 71, 7,144 yards
Team Scores1. San Diego State 280-280-275--835 (-17)2. UNLV 273-276-287--836 (-16)3. Nevada 280-277-285--842 (-10)4. New Mexico 282-286-275--843 (-9)5. Colorado State 287-287-291--865 (+13)6. Boise State 295-286-291--872 (+20)7. San José State 293-289-292--874 (+22)8. Wyoming 295-288-298--881 (+29)9. Utah State 295-298-291--884 (+32)10. Air Force 296-291-299--886 (+34)11. Fresno State 293-301-295--889 (+37)
Individual Leaders (Top 6 of 55 players + SDSU)1. Kurt Kitayama, UNLV 65-65-72--202 (-11)2. Xander Schauffele, SDSU 67-70-67--204 (-9)3. Nick Fuller, Nevada 70-67-69--206 (-7)T4. Ryann Ree, SDSU 71-70-67--208 (-5)T4. Carl Jonson, UNLV 68-72-68--208 (-5)T4. Corey Eddings, Nevada 66-69-73--208 (-5)---T7. Nahum Mendoza III, SDSU 67-69-73--209 (-4)T24. Riccardo Michelini, SDSU 75-73-70--218 (+5)T24. PJ Samiere, SDSU 76-71-71--218 (+5)